LOUDON, N.H. (September 25, 2011) — After a few tough weeks, Timothy Peters and the No. 17 team returned to a 1.0-mile race track nestled in the heart of New England, New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Peters and the No. 17 team were able to overcome a late-race pit road mishap to battle back and earn their ninth top-10 finish of 2011.
“It feels good to be back in the top-10,” said Peters after the race. “We didn’t really have our GearWrench Tundra like we wanted, but we finished ninth. We fought tight all weekend long. We gave up a lot of track position on pit road, but that’s just the way our year has been. There is no “I” in team — we win as one and we lose as one. We will just go to Kentucky next week and try to get the best finish we can.”
Peters started the F.W. Webb 175 from the ninth starting position. By lap 15, the driver of the No. 17 GearWrench Toyota Tundra had not been able to make any forward progress, despite running lap times comparable with the leaders. Peters rode in the ninth position until the first caution of the day waved on lap 60. Peters had reported to the No. 17 team that the truck was too tight. Under the caution period Peters brought the truck to the attention of the crew for four tires, fuel and several chassis adjustments.
A quick stop by the team placed Peters back on track in the seventh position for the restart on lap 65. A few laps later the second caution of the day waved on lap 69 for debris. Unwilling to give up track position the No. 17 team made the call to stay out. Peters reported that his truck was maybe a little worse handling wise despite the improved lap times on the speed chart. The race restarted on lap 73, with Peters scored in the seventh position. At the half-way point on lap 88, Peters rode comfortably in the eighth position. The team was forced to give up the eighth position on lap 117 and “short-pit” before the rest of the field, due to the fact that the truck had not gotten full of gas on the previous pit stop.
Peters brought the No. 17 GearWrench Toyota Tundra to the attention of the crew for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. The pit crew’s second and final stop of the afternoon was lengthy resulting in time lost on the track for the driver of the No. 17 truck. Peters returned to the track scored in the 15th position, two laps down to the leader.
As the round of green-flag pit stops cycled through, Peters was scored running in the ninth position one lap down to the leaders. Despite his best efforts, Peters was unable to gain his lap back by passing the leader on the track, even though his lap times were as good as, if not better, than the lead pack. Peters continued to battle but could not make any forward progress as a result of being one lap behind the leader. Peters crossed the finish line in the ninth position, his ninth top-10 finish of 2011.
Peters is currently fourth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings, 25 markers out of the first position. The Truck Series returns to action next week on Saturday, October 1, 2011, at Kentucky Speedway for the Kentucky 225 which can be viewed live on SPEED at 8:00 p.m., EDT.
About Apex Tool Group:
Apex Tool Group, LLC , based in Sparks, MD, is one of the largest worldwide producers of industrial hand and power tools, tool storage, drill chucks, chain, and electronic soldering products. Directly and through its subsidiaries, Apex serves a multitude of global markets, including automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy, hardware, industrial, and consumer retail. Apex markets its portfolio of diverse products under its own brand names in addition to being the principal manufacturer for several key private label products for certain retailers for many years. Additional information about Apex Tool Group is available at www.apextoolgroup.com.
About GearWrench:
GearWrench is a premier hand tool brand from Apex Tool Group, one of the largest hand tool manufacturers in the world. Since the launch of the original patented 5-degree ratcheting wrench, the GearWrench brand has continuously led the industry with breakthroughs in pass-thru ratchets, sockets, screw/nut drivers, pliers and specialty tools. More than 100 million GearWrench products have been “Professionally Tested” throughout the world. Additional information about GearWrench is available online at www.gearwrench.com.
About Red Horse Racing:
Founded in 2005 by former Mobil Corporation executive Tom DeLoach and NASCAR veteran Jeff Hammond, Red Horse Racing aims to be a professional racing team that strives for excellence on and off the race track. Red Horse Racing hopes to build and maintain solid, mutual relationships with its partners to win races and championships and to represent itself in a professional manner. The team has four victories and five poles in its brief existence. DeLoach and Hammond also own Performance Instruction Training (PIT), the number one pit crew training center in the world that also has many corporate training options that include team-building, lean manufacturing, motorsports demonstrations and more.
